Folding stool



Sept. 16, 1969 M. M. SIENKIEWICZ EFAL 3,467,033

' FOLDING STOOL Filed Aug. 3, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS maez/m/ m. J/EA/K/[lJ/CZ ,easseu 1/ ,eznae Qw, WM

P 1969 M. M. SIENKlEWlCZ ETAL 3,467,033

FOLDING STOOL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 3, 1967 United States Patent US. Cl. 108-150 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A folding seat having a hinged post member adapted to be restrained from pivoting by means of a slidable sleeve. The seat has a socket member aflixed in its underside and the post is slidably and pivotably received therein by means of a pair of ears depending downwardly from the socket member. Each of the ears has an inwardly extending nipple and the upper section of the post has a pair of slots which receive the nipples and slide with respect thereto when the post is slid into or withdrawn from the socket. Stops are provided for limiting this sliding movement such that the post may be withdrawn from the socket a sufficient distance to allow it to pivot between the ears into abutment with the seat and slid with respect thereto and, yet, remain connected to the socket assembly.

BACKGROUND This invention relates to folding stools and, more particularly, to stools capable of being broken down into compact configurations and particularly adaptable for use by sportsmen in the field.

Hunters, fishermen and the like often have occasion while practicing their particular sport to sit and rest at locations relatively remote from modern conveniences. Often the damp terrain or the desirability of being able to view a particular area render sitting on the ground not feasible. It is desirable, therefore, that some type of seat be available for the particular sportsman which he may carry with him while traveling for use on such occasions.

The prior art is replete with attempts to furnish the sportsmen or other potential user with such a device. Each of the prior art device has recognized to greater or lesser extent the functional characteristics which are necessary to make such a device acceptable to the user and, thus, of commercial utility. Basically, these functional characteristics can be columnized under headings such as portability, compactness, strength or life, comfort and stability. Thus, for example, it is desirable that such a device fold or otherwise breakdown into a compact package so as to be easily transportable with little added exertion on the part of the user and, yet, when assembled for use furnish suflicient comfort and stability to, in fact, be utilized for the purpose which it was designed.

Despite the rather crowded state of the prior art, no device has been proposed heretofore which satisfactorily fulfills these requirements. Certainly, it is necessary that functional desirabilities be compromised but attempts to do so in the past have resultedin devices which were extremely unsatisfactory for one reason or another. For example, if a particular device was designed with the portability criterion primarily in mind, it did not hold up under field use. If, on the other hand, utmost care was taken to produce a structurally sound device, it either lacked the necessary portability (from the standpoints of weight or size) and/or was too expensive to be within the reach of the average user.

OBJECTS AND SPECIFICATION It is an object of this invention to provide a device of the type described which effectively compromises the criterion outlined heretofore.

More particularly, it is an object of this invention to provide a stool which folds into a compact, easily port able configuration for transporting to the site of utilization.

It is an object of this invention to provide such a device which may be fabricated from high-strength material such that the resultant product will have a long period of useful life.

It is an object of this invention to provide a device of the type described which, when unfolded at the particular site offers a seating arrangement which is both stable and comfortable to the user.

It is an object of this invention to provide a seat of the type described which may be fabricated at relatively low cost and, thus, marketed at a price Within the reach of the vast majority of potential customers.

It is an object of this invention to provide a device of the type described which, when broken down for transporting purposes, maintains a unitary structural package whereby various parts will not be lost during transportation or storage.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a device of the type described embodying a novel tine structure for vertically stabilizing the seat in soft terrain when it is unoccupied.

These, as well as other objects of this invention, will be readily understood by those skilled in the art with reference to the following specification and accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the portable seat which is the subject of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary, cross-sectional view taken along plane HII of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along plane ]1I-III of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary, cross-sectional view of the pivot assembly;

FIG. 5 is a side-elevational view of the pivot assembly;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the upper bracket which is affixed to the seat board;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the device folded into its compact form for traveling and/or storage; and

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary, perspective view of a modified form of the invention.

Briefly, this invention comprises a planar seat board supported by a post having at least two sections pivotably afiixed to one another whereby the sections may be folded together to reduce the length of the post. Mean are provided for selectively restraining pivoting of the sections when they are in generally aligned position with respect to one another. A socket is provided in the lower surface of board for receiving post in non-tiltable fashion.

Means are afiixed to the socket for slidably and pivotably engaging the upper extremity of the post whereby the post may be withdrawn from the socket and pivoted to a position generally parallel to the plane of the seat board while still remaining afiixed thereto. Preferably, this attachment is such that the upper section of the post may he slid parallel to the seat board after withdrawal from the socket to a point where its over-all length generally corresponds to the comparable dimension of the seat board whereby the folded dimensions of the unit may be markedly reduced.

Referring now to the figures, a preferred embodiment of this invention will be described in detail. The seat board 10 is supported above the surface by means of a post assembly 20 having a suitable base 21 which, although not shown, may further comprise a pointed extremity to assist stabilization of the seat. The post assembly 20 comprises a lower section 22 and an upper section 3 23 which, conveniently, may be fabricated from solid tubular aluminum stock. The lower section 22 and the upper section 23 are atiixed together by means of a pivot assembly 24 whereby they may be folded together for transportation and/or storage.

Pivot assembly 24 comprises diametric cuts 25 and 26 with lower section 22 and upper section 23, respectively, of the post assembly. A hinge member 27 is affixed within the slots as shown by means of pins 28. The surface boundaries (see FIG. of hinge member 27 are relatively square on one side thereof as indicated at 33 and rounded on the other side thereof as indicated at 32. Similarly, the abutting surfaces of upper section 23 and lower section 24 are flush or square as indicated at 34 on one side thereof and rounded as indicated at 35 on the other side thereof (see FIG. 5). The depth of cuts 25 and 26, the dimensions of hinge 27, the rounded corners 32 on the hinge and the rounded sections 35 of the abutting faces of upper section 23 and lower section 24 allow the two sections to be pivoted in one direction with respect to one another such that they lie in approximately parallel side-by-side relationship but check such pivotal movement in the other direction once the sections have been swung into aligned relationship. Thus, as shown in FIG. 5, lower section 22 may be pivoted clockwise with respect to upper section 23, but may not be pivoted further in a counterclockwise direction with respect thereto.

When the upper and lower sections of post assembly 20 have been pivoted to the position shown in FIG. 5, a tubular sleeve member 30 is slid thereover to maintain upper section 23 and lower section 24 in longitudinally aligned relationship during use of the seat. A suitable stop member 31 is provided for limiting the downward sliding action of the sleeve 30. Since the sleeve should conform as closely as possible to the outer dimensions of sections 23 and 24, hinge pins 28 preferably are flush or recessed with respect to the peripheral boundaries of the tubing members.

The socket assembly 40, comprises a plate 41 having a tubular sleeve 42 perpendicularly afiixed thereto or integrally formed therewith. Sleeve 42 is inserted in a suitable aperture drilled in seat board and plate 41 secured to the under side thereof by suitable fasteners such as screws. Tubular sleeve 42 has a pair of cutaway sections at its lower extremity which define a pair of cars 43 extending downwardly from plate 41. Extending inwardly from the ears are a pair of converging nipples 45 which are slidably and pivotably received by a pair of slots 46 in the upper section 23 of post assembly 20. Preferably, the slots extend downwardly along section 23 a suflicient distance to allow the seat to assume the configuration shown in FIG. 7 when it is broken down for traveling.

The sliding movement of upper section 23 with respect to socket assembly 40 is limited in one direction by the abutment of the upper limit 49 of upper section 23 and the interior surface 50 of tubular sleeve 42 which, as shown, has a plate or other plug means affixed across the upper end thereof. Movement of the two components in the opposite direction is limited by the abutment of slot limit pin 47 against nipples 45. Thus, the upper section 23 may not be withdrawn completely from tubular sleeve 42 and the two components always remain connected to one another. Upper section 23 may be pulled downwardly, however, a sufficient distance to allow the upper limit 49 thereof to clear the sidewalls of tubular sleeve 42 via the cutaway sections 44 whereby upper section may be pivoted into generally parallel position with seat board 44. Once this has been accomplished, the upper section (and the lower section and stand connected thereto) may be slid at the junction of nipples 45 and slots 46 to such point that upper section 23 has its extremities generally co-terminal with the extremities of seat board 10. When upper section 23 has been placed in this position, and lower section 24 folded to the position shown in FIG. 7, the compact nature of the device allows it to be carried in the users pocket. 7

When the user has reached a particular site at which he wishes to sit and rest or wait for game or the like, he may remove the compact assembly from its carrying position, swing lower section 22 away from upper section 23 such that the base 21 will clear the edge of seat board 10, slide the upper section such that it may pivot perpendicularly with respect to seat board 10, and push the upper limit 49 thereof into tubular sleeve 42 till it abuts Surface 50. After this, it is necessary merely to slide sleeve 30 over the pivot assembly 24 and the seat is ready for use. The abutment of upper limit 49 of upper section 23 and surface 50 of tubular sleeve 42, and the close tolerance of the tubular boundaries of the upper section 23 with respect to the tubular boundaries of sleeve 42 prevent pivoting of the seat with respect to post assembly 20. After the particular use has been completed, the seat may be disassembled by merely raising sleeve 30 from stop 31 such that pivot assembly 24 may be activated and repeating the steps outlined above to break the nonpivotable connection between the socket assembly 40 and the post assembly 20.

Referring now to FIG. 8, there is illustrated a modified base structure for the folding stool which will maintain the vertical position of the stool on soft terrain, despite the absence of an occupant on the seat. A pair of apertures 71 have been drilled in base plate 21 and a pair of pointed tines 74 are slidably mounted therein. The tines are carried at their upper ends by a friction collar 73 which slidably engages lower section 22 of the structure. Conveniently, collar 22 may comprise a section of coil spring wrapped one and one-half times about section 22 and having the tines 74 welded or otherwise afiixed directly to the ends thereof. The spring, of course, should be slightly smaller than section 22 to provide the desired frictional coupling.

If the terrain is soft, the tine assembly 72 may be slid downwardly by hand to a point where tines 74 project below the base plate 21 a substantial distance. The tines 74 will sink into the ground when the stool is placed thereon and stabilize the stool vertically without the presence of an occupant upon the seat. If, on the other hand, the terrain is hard, the tine assembly may be left in its retracted position. Conveniently, a stop 75 is provided for limting the upward movement of tine assembly 72 such that the tines 74 cannot be slid completely free from apertures 71. The position of stop 75 should be such that the pointed ends of tines 74 lie flush or slightly recessed with respect to the lower surface of base plate 21 when tine assembly 72 is in its uppermost position. The friction collar 73 retains the tine assembly in this position for travel, storage and use on hard surfaces.

While a preferred embodiment of this invention has been described in detail, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous other embodiments may be conceived and fabricated without departing from the spirit of this specification and the accompanying drawings. Such other embodiments are to be deemed as included in the following claims unless these claims, by their language, expressly state otherwise.

We claim:

1. A folding stool comprising:

a planar seatboard;

post means for supporting said seatboard above a surface; socket means in the lower surface of said seatboard for receiving said post in non-tiltable fashion;

means aflixed to said socket means for slidably and pivotably engaging said post means whereby said post means may be withdrawn from said socket means and pivoted to a position generally parallel to the plane of said seatboard while still affixed thereto; and

means in said post means for permitting said post means to be slid relative to said seatboard after it has been pivoted to said generally parallel position without separation of said post means and seatboard.

2. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said post means has at least two sections pivotably affixed to one another whereby said sections may be folded together to reduce the length of said post means; and means for selectively restraining pivoting of said sections when they are in generally aligned position with respect to one another.

3. The apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein said engaging means comprises a pair of ears depending downwardly from said socket means and wherein the mating section of said post means has means slidably and pivotably engaged by extensions on said ears.

4. The apparatus as set forth in claim 3 wherein said ears each have a nipple extending inwardly in converging fashion therefrom and wherein the upper section of said post means has a pair of slots therein adapted to engage said nipples in sliding fashion whereby, when said post is withdrawn from or inserted into said socket, said nipples slide in said slots.

5. The apparatus as set forth in claim 4 which further comprises means for limiting the sliding movement of said mating section with respect to said ears whereby said slots cannot be pulled free from engagement with said nipples.

6. The apparatus as set forth in claim 5 wherein said slots are of sufiicient length to allow said mating section to be slid with respect to said ears till said mating section substantially overlies said seatboard with the extremities thereof generally co-terminal.

7. The structure as set forth in claim 1 which further comprises:

a base plate affixed to the lower end of said post means,

said base plate having at least one aperture therethrough; and

tine means slidably affixed to said post and slidable through said aperture such that said time means will protrude into the terrain andvertically stabilize said stoll.

8. The structure as set forth in claim 7 wherein said tine means are afiixed to said post means by a friction collar and wherein a stop is provided for limiting retracting movement of said tine means such that they cannot slide completely free of said aperture.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,720,249 10/ 1955 Peterson 108-141 2,833,500 6/1958 Jones 248--156 XR 2,877,828 3/1959 Barnette 248-156 XR 3,213,824 10/1965 Jenkins 248156 XR 3,283,733 11/1966 Boerma 108-150 FOREIGN PATENTS 803,900 10/1936 France.

BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner G. O. FINCH, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

